Trauma, Elaboration of Painfull Life Events and their Relationshipwith Parental Reflective Functioning

Abstract

This work is part of a research program that focuses on mother-infant affect regulation, affective self-regulation, and various inter- and intrasubjective aspects, including parental reflective functioning. The objective was to inquire about painful life experiences and their subjective impact on the participating mothers, We particularly focused on the study of the relationship between reflective functioning and recording of the emotional impact of certain life events. The results of the enunciation and elaboration of painful life events are presented here through two different modes of inquiry: the Parental Development Interview and the Selfanalysis of Life Events questionnaire, in 26 mothers of preschool children. Differences in the report in both instances were found, being more frequent among mothers with lower reflective functioning.  The theory considers reflective functioning a key factor in understanding the organization of the self and affect regulation. The results suggest that reflective functioning can contribute to the elaboration of painful and potentially traumatic life events. From a methodological point of view, the differential effects between the two modes of inquiry are also discussed. The contributions of psychoanalytic authors on trauma and psychopathology are also considered. Painful events are not in themselves factors of pathology production, but may constitute potential conditions for it.